[Etherate]

 
I'm after a new mp3 player because im not happy with what i have now.
 
What i am currently using is:
 
1st Gen iPod Nano with the stock apple earphones (It sounds tinny, not very clear and sharp, no depth)
 
I am after something that will sound as good as my Samsung Galaxy does or better. I would use my phone except for the fact that it drains the battery and isnt very comfortable to take jogging.
 
I have come down to either of these two options:
 
8GB iPod Nano (5th Gen) + $100 earphones* + Playing Apple Lossless files.
 
or
 
8GB Cowon iAudio 9 + $50 earphones* + playing FLAC files.
 
*The reason i cant spend more on headphones if i get the iPod is because my mate is offering his almost brand new unused ipod at a cheap price. Both options would cost me around $200 all up, cannot exceed this budget.
 
So what is going to give me the best sound quality out of these options?
Are better headphones > better player?
Is there audible difference between ALAC vs FLAC?
 
What i like about the ipod option is that i think better headphones might make more of a difference, and i like the that ipod's are more universal and will plug n play in almost everything.

 

[LevA]

if money is tight then your best option would be to get sansa clip+ and spend the rest of your money on headphones as that will make the most difference in the quality of your music. sansa clip+ are considered pretty well around here (I have not personally tried) and you can use rockbox for better customization, EQ etc.  it also comes in different memory sizes and sd card option for further expanding your players memory. neither nano or iaudio9 comes with sd card option as far as I know, so just this alone makes it a better choice, as you may find the 8gb limiting later on, especially if you plan to use FLAC or ALAC files. 
 
as for headphones, do your research here, even set a budget and ask around for recommendations in a thread. since money is tight, with a little research you can get the best possible sound for your budget and be happy with your setup. 
 
as for your question on FLAC vs ALAC, they are both lossless, so should be the same as far as sound goes. with FLAC though you have more options for players, so if you haven't started ripping your music, I recommend FLAC. I personally use ALAC, but thats because by the time I was aware of this, I already amassed over 300 albums of ALAC and find converting them now as PITA....also note, Rockbox can play both ALAC and FLAC files so you wont have any problems if you go with sansa clip+
 
good luck with your search for quality sound!

 

[Axegrind]

 
Is the sandisk sansa clip plus better than iphone3gs with regards to sound quality and power output? Im also planning to use it with my xb500 headphones... Thanks.

 

[yifu]

The answer is no(to me at least) but the sansa clip does sound very capable for its price.
 
Quote:

 
Is the sandisk sansa clip plus better than iphone3gs with regards to sound quality and power output? Im also planning to use it with my xb500 headphones... Thanks.

 

[Etherate]

 
Quote:

if money is tight then your best option would be to get sansa clip+ and spend the rest of your money on headphones as that will make the most difference in the quality of your music. sansa clip+ are considered pretty well around here (I have not personally tried) and you can use rockbox for better customization, EQ etc.  it also comes in different memory sizes and sd card option for further expanding your players memory. neither nano or iaudio9 comes with sd card option as far as I know, so just this alone makes it a better choice, as you may find the 8gb limiting later on, especially if you plan to use FLAC or ALAC files. 
 
as for headphones, do your research here, even set a budget and ask around for recommendations in a thread. since money is tight, with a little research you can get the best possible sound for your budget and be happy with your setup. 
 
as for your question on FLAC vs ALAC, they are both lossless, so should be the same as far as sound goes. with FLAC though you have more options for players, so if you haven't started ripping your music, I recommend FLAC. I personally use ALAC, but thats because by the time I was aware of this, I already amassed over 300 albums of ALAC and find converting them now as PITA....also note, Rockbox can play both ALAC and FLAC files so you wont have any problems if you go with sansa clip+
 
good luck with your search for quality sound!

 
Thanks for the input, tbh im really hating the design of the clip+, the screen looks quite awful and is too small for my liking. Im not too fussed about sd cards and extra storage, i only ever have a few of my fav albums on my player at any one time.
 

 

[Etherate]

...
Update: Well ive just ordered myself some Brainwavz M2's. So now just need to settle on the player
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[violinvirtuoso]

+1 for Sansa Clip+ (w/Rockbox).

 

[Br777]

heck..save your money.. 1st gen nano wasnt the problem.. it was the stock buds..  you may find that the nano sounds fine once you get some better cans on it.
 
but yes, if you must, get the clip+, get a 16gb micro sd card, and DEFINITELY rockbox it.  i own one as well as a ipod touch 4th gen which also has a custom eq on it, and i tell you what i dont think i could tell the difference in sound quality unless i really tried, and even then im not sure which one would win.
update: after reading some more posts - yes the ipod probably has a stronger output so maybe that would be a better choice.. i dont know enough about that sort of thing to give that kind of advice though.
 
also i cant recommend enough buying a used player so that you can get more storage for less money.  especially with used ipods on ebay, even if worst comes to worst and it ends up needing a new battery sooner than later, there are tons of 3rd party websites that will pop in a new battery to any apple device for like 20 bucks.